Originally Posted by
Squawk7700
Wild speculation on my behalf, however the damage looks to be high speed and at a high rate of descent. Is a high speed stall in the usual sense possible in a 172?
It can be done, but it would be like flying aerobatics. Nothing in the data provided suggests that.
The timing here is very interesting. I’m not overly familiar with the many models of 172, is 10% Flap able to be pulled on downwind above 80
knots?
It appears they had started the base turn, or perhaps they didn’t. The Flap comment above is an option when looking at the track, however that would indicate they had applied flap while maintaining a downwind heading. Flap asymmetry would become a startle issue for most low hour pilots, full aileron correction will be required almost immediately, with the corresponding reduction in flaps in the other. A couple of seconds lost in startle will become very troublesome, you will be in a violent roll before you know it.
I doubt that applying 10% flap on downwind would cause such roll/loss of control if the left cable failed. Heavy flap application which I would expect once established base, is an option.
